Because One Branch Fell
by painted.inkblot
Summary: A look into what happened when Rainwhisker died by being struck by a falling branch. Can be considered a prequel to Rainfall, but you don't need to read that to understand this.


**A/N: I'm surprised not many have written a oneshot about Rainwhisker's death. You can kind of consider this a prequel to my oneshot Rainfall, because at the end it talks about his death.**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I wasn't the three people that are Erin Hunter.**

* * *

**Because One Branch Fell**

* * *

It was rare in ThunderClan camp that all of the clan would be there at sunhigh. That was a time when cats were hunting, out on patrol, and being trained by their mentors if they were apprentices.

But what kind of leader or deputy would let any of their cats out of camp when a full blown storm was raging in the winter?

The storm had been going on for several days, and during it, no cat was allowed to go even a pawstep out of the camp. As a result, patrols couldn't be done, and neither could hunting trips. When the storm started, the fresh-kill pile had been plentiful, but now there was barely enough for just the elders.

"Brambleclaw, I've got to go hunting! The fresh-kill pile is low, and soon we'll probably be starving!" Rainwhisker pawed the ground angrily as he shouted above the loud wind, annoyed that the deputy wouldn't let him do something.

Brambleclaw breathed deeply, as if he had been asked this before. "I told you Rainwhisker," he meowed, his voice barely heard over the storm, "I can't risk any cat in a storm like this. I don't want you- or any other cat - to get hurt."

"But…" Rainwhisker sighed, trying to look calm, but his tail was still twitching, giving himself away.

Berrypaw, Brambleclaw's apprentice, walked up to his mentor. "Brambleclaw, the queens all want you to know they're worried about the lack of fresh-kill, and they're worried about their kits."

Rainwhisker noticed Brambleclaw stiffen a bit, his eyes flickering to the nursery uneasily. _Why's he so worried about the queens?_ the gray tom thought. Rainwhisker glanced over at the nursery, and saw a ginger tail from one of the queens, Squirrelflight.

_Oh yeah, Squirrelflight's Brambleclaw's mate!_ Their kits were due in a few weeks or so, and Brambleclaw had been very nervous and worried about them lately.

"But Brambleclaw," Rainwhisker yelled, the roaring of the wind seeming to get louder, "What about the kits? If the queens don't have enough food to eat, the kits could die!"

"I'm sure the kits will live," Brambleclaw said firmly, though there was uncertainty in his voice, and his eyes kept flickering to the nursery.

"Are you sure?" Rainwhisker persisted. "It's also leaf-bare, and that's when it's most likely for cats to die." Cats to die…Rainwhisker almost instantly regretted saying that. Not only because Brambleclaw seemed more anxious than before, but because there could be one cat that he especially didn't want to die, but could in these circumstances…Rainwhisker angrily shook his head, trying to the get the image of a certain dark tabby she-cat out of his mind.

The deputy finally wavered. "Okay," he sighed. "But take at least two cats with you."

"I will," Rainwhisker promptly answered, and dashed away.

The gray tom went over to the warriors den, where he found Ashfur, looking moody, like he had for the past few moons.

"Ashfur," Rainwhisker said, padding up to him, "would you like to come hunting with me? You could take your apprentice, too, if you like.

"So Brambleclaw finally let a cat hunt?" Ashfur said, a slight tinge of iciness when he said the deputy's name. _Well_, thought Rainwhisker,_ it's better than before._ Before he couldn't even bear to say the deputy's name. Now he seemed to almost be friends with Squirrelflight again.

"Yeah," Rainwhisker replied. "So, do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Ashfur said. "I'll get Birchpaw." A few moments later he came back with the light brown apprentice, who was practically bursting with energy after being cooped up in camp for so long.

The three cats could barely get out of camp. The wind was so forceful they were almost blown back with each step, and it was all they could to even get walk a few foxlengths.

Eventually they got used to it, and decided to split up. Rainwhisker went farther into the forest, searching for almost nonexistent prey. He was lucky enough to catch a couple foolish birds, but after that he spent a long time hunting, with no reward. The storm was getting fiercer and fiercer, and Rainwhisker could almost feel the ground shaking.

"I've – got – to- catch – some - prey!" the gray tom growled, the wind blowing harder and harder each time he said a word.

"Rainwhisker!" a voice yowled, incredibly small seeming next to the howl of the storm, "We should go back to camp, the storm's getting to fierce!" It was Birchpaw.

"No!' Rainwhisker yowled, still trudging along in search of prey. "The clan needs prey!" The trees, ever so slightly, started shaking now, more and more as the storm went on.

Birchpaw burst out of the brush, running up to Rainwhisker. "We've got to!" he pleaded, looking up at the gray tom with widened eyes. "I saw your buried prey, and I caught a bit of prey too. Ashfur's a great hunter, so he probably did. At least we got some prey, Rainwhisker! We can hunt some more another time."

Rainwhisker grunted in response, heading near a tree which seemed to have a mouse under it.

"Don't go there, Rainwhisker!" Birchpaw yowled. "One of the branches on that tree looks like it's about to fall off!'

Rainwhisker didn't hear him, as a sudden gust of wind had blown when Birchpaw had shouted at him, with a giant roar of thunder to go with it.

The gray tom's total concentration on the mouse seemed to illuminate all other noise, with the wind being heard only dimly. There also seemed to be the sound of creaking, but Rainwhisker ignored it.

As he slowly crept up on the mouse, Rainwhisker felt eerie, as if something was watching him. He shook off the feeling irritably._ It's just my head,_ he thought, his paws practically clenching the barren ground so as not to be forced away by the wind. _Just ignore it._

"Rainwhisker!" Birchpaw screamed.

_Probably asking me to stop again,_ Rainwhisker thought.

Suddenly the gray tom heard a noise just above the raucous sound of the storm. It was like something was being twisted off something, being forced.

"Rainwhisker, run!" Birchpaw's voice was drowned out by the huge noise. The twisting sound stopped, and gave way to what seemed a huge silence, though the storm was still going on. Rainwhisker felt that eeriness again. He looked up, and saw a huge branch falling. It seemed like slow motion, but Rainwhisker could tell it wasn't.

Rainwhisker ran out of the way.

He was too late.

_Funny,_ Rainwhisker thought in his last moments, _how it was me that died, and not the one I was worried about?_

Right after that thought, the branch fell, giving way to pure numbness, then pain, intense pain.

Rainwhisker could still faintly hear Birchpaw crying his name, but he didn't seem to register it as him. All senses were skewed from what he was feeling right now.

Rainwhisker always imagined, sense he was a kit fighting pretend battles, that he would die nobly, knowing what would happen, and calm about it.

This didn't seem like that.

And Rainwhisker was terrified.

Rainwhisker desperately tried to open his eyes one last time. They cracked open a sliver, and he saw red, horribly bright red.

Then Rainwhisker saw only black.

StarClan had a new member.

* * *

**A/N: It seemed that almost every death we saw ourselves in the Warriors series seemed have the cat calm about it, knowing what was going to happen, and dying nobly, usually in a battle. So Rainwhisker's showed what it would really be like. **


End file.
